The present invention relates to physical exercise equipment, and more particularly pertains to a movable physical exercise treadmill having a tripartite frame and used generally for quadrupeds, with an emphasis on utilizing it for training, exercising, health monitoring, and the scientific study of thoroughbred racehorses and zoo and laboratory animals.
In the past several decades, countless devices and instruments have been invented for the physical training and exercise and scientific study of animals. In addition, recent decades have seen an increase in benevolent feelings toward, and concern for the decent treatment of, animals kept under human confinement, whether in zoos, game preserves, research laboratories, circuses, or sporting facilities. For instance, the devices and instruments adapted for use in animal studies and research range from operant conditioning Skinner boxes to complex biofeedback machines and experimental breeding programs involving the use of contemporary genetic research.
It is, therefore, unsurprising that the application of sophisticated devices and instruments, in combination with the most up-to-date scientific techniques, has influenced such a sport as thoroughbred horse racing. The training of racehorses has gone far beyond the daily morning jaunt around the dirt track; instead, the training of thoroughbred racehorses involves techniques such as genetic breeding, the most scientific preparation of nutritionally-rich diets, and the most elaborate training regimens
One apparatus currently used in the training regimen of racehorses is the exercise treadmill. Modern treadmills can perform a number of tasks related to the training, exercise, scientific study, and health monitoring of thoroughbreds. For example, a properly designed treadmill can improve a horse's racing ability by rigorous training sessions on an adjustable speed or variable speed treadmill. High-speed cameras adjacent the treadmill can photograph a horse's running form; the photographs can then be examined in order to discern defects in the particular horse's running form and to determine methods for improvement.
In addition, electrodes and other sensing devices can be attached to various parts of the horse in order to examine and monitor physical characteristics such as lung and heart capacity and muscle endurance and stamina. Also, thermal photography can be used to evaluate metabolic processes occurring within the horse. Moreover, a properly designed treadmill can alleviate the lethargy and monotony of confinement during inclement weather or the winter season by providing indoor physical exercise approximating outdoor, and in the case of racehorses, even racetrack conditions.
In addition to use with thoroughbred racehorses, exercise treadmills can have other applications. For instance, zoo and laboratory animals can be monitored and studied using exercise treadmills, and periods of confinement indoors to pens and cages can be relieved by stints on an exercise treadmill. Also, exercise treadmills can complement the sophisticated instruments and techniques used in veterinary schools and university research departments. No longer will remote study and examination be required; the animal (preferably a quadruped) can be brought to a veterinary school that has a properly designed exercise treadmill for on-site study and examination.
Indeed, a properly designed exercise treadmill, with provision being made on its structure for adaptation to meet future scientific demands and technological changes, is a valuable acquirement for practical or theoretical purposes in order to enhance the health and productivity of the animals and to increase their longevity. Modern science has indisputably altered the world of man; with devices such as a sophisticated exercise treadmill being applied to the training, study, and research of quadrupeds, the world of nature is unquestionably being changed.